Brand New Colony
by BellaEnchanted
Summary: After a messy love triangle, Bella vows to stay single for her Senior year. Meeting Edward Cullen however, was not something she anticipated. M currently just for language
1. Chapter 1

"You going my way, 'Toots?" I opened my eyes halfway through the breath I was taking, trying to see if that statement was directed at me. It was.

A huge bear of a man stood at my side, facing me, his head tilted to the door I was supposed to walk through, and a Cheshire cat grin stretching from ear to ear. He might have been huge and intimidating, but he looked so warm and inviting with those dimples I couldn't help but offer a shy smile in return, along with an answer.

"I guess I am. This is the theatre room, right?"

"Sure is! I'm Emmett—you must be Isabella, the new girl, right?" I winced at the sudden association. It might have been true, but that's all I had been called all day, and I was downright sick of it.

"It's Bella," I corrected for the thousandth time, as he opened the door and indicated that I should walk in first.

"Sorry—Bella. How's the first day been?" I followed him to a cluster of seats. Though the classroom was built like every other room here, there seemed to be chaos rather than order. Desks I had seen in perfect four-by-five rows throughout the day were scattered around the room, a large teacher's desk against the far wall in the corner. It was different, but I found I kind of liked it—it reminded me of my scatterbrained mother. It would probably end up being the death of me sooner or later, of course; I was a bit of a klutz, and a disorderly room would only serve to prove that time and again. I had enough trouble maneuvering through organized rooms as it was.

"Um…interesting?" was the only answer I offered, and he laughed a deep laugh that I couldn't help but join in with a giggle.

"Interesting how?"

"Well, for starters, I'm not even supposed to be in this class. I signed up for an extra English class, but the office said they wouldn't be able to fit me into two and they put me here instead. I'm too shy for this stuff," I blurted out before I could realize it. What the hell was I doing? I really was shy, yet here I had just spilled my guts to a virtual stranger, who once again was laughing.

"You won't regret it—Forks may suck, but we've got an excellent theatre program, and these kids are some of the coolest people you'll meet here. Take me for example," he smiled, stretching and then pointing to himself.

"And me! Hi, I'm Alice! I'm so glad you're in this class! We're going to be such good friends!"

"Geez, pixie, slow down a little, Bella just got here—lay off the energy, will ya?" Emmett's booming laughter filled the room once again, and I wasn't sure if he was laughing at Alice's exuberance or the shy blush that spread across my cheeks at the sudden attention.

"Hi, Alice," I replied, tucking my long brown hair behind my ear. She smiled at me then, as big as Emmett had, and I smiled back, still embarrassed but relieved to have found people who didn't gawk at me like I was some new exhibit at the zoo. I told Alice and Emmett as much, and was rewarded with his booming laughter and her light tinkling, feeling relaxed for the first time that day.

"Don't worry if you don't really know much about theatre—we'll all help you! Here, let me introduce you to the whole class!" I tried to stop her, but she had already pulled me to my feet—an amazing accomplishment considering she was a good half foot shorter than me. I looked to Emmett for help, but he just laughed again, making me roll my eyes and realize this was the most social I had ever been in my life. "Good! Everyone who's going to be here today is already here! Except Mrs. Wigg, but she's always late!"

Looking around, I realized this was a really small class—only about ten of us total—and I could see why I was easily placed here before my first choice English lit. class. Alice wasted no time with the introductions.

"Well, you've already met my big brother bear, Emmett! There's Rosalie, his girlfriend," she waved to a statuesque blond making her way towards Emmett and I immediately felt like the ugliest girl ever to walk the planet. Rosalie was beautiful—tall, with long blonde hair, killer blue eyes, and a figure I could only wish for in my dreams. She had the ice-queen demeanor to go with her model-beauty, though, as she simply nodded and tried to hide her sneer. Alice continued.

"Over there is Angela, and sitting next to her is Ben and Eric! That's Kate, and Garrett, and walking in right now is Mrs. Wigg! Hi, Mrs. Wigg! I was just introducing everyone to Bella! Everyone, this is Bella, she just moved here from Phoenix, and this is her first day at Forks High!"

"We know, Alice," everyone chorused, and I couldn't help but laugh along with them. This group of people was totally different from the people I had to deal with all day. I felt included here, despite Rosalie, and I was actually not dreading the usual public speaking often associated with the theatre. I didn't even blush too much when the classroom was filled with "hello, Bella"s and "hi, there new girl"s or anything!

We sat down as Mrs. Wigg looked around. I realized she was taking attendance mentally when she looked at Alice and asked where Edward was. Alice rolled her eyes, shrugging. Mrs. Wigg rolled her eyes in response, and the issue was put to table as she rubbed her hands together. Her quick dismissal told me that this Edward character was often absent, and I wondered why someone would willingly not come to this class if it was as good as Emmett and Alice said it was.

"Alright, everyone—let's show Bella how we theatre folk do it in Forks, shall we?"

* * *

A familiar blue truck was in my parking spot in the driveway when I got home, next to Charlie's police cruiser. I frowned, this time not at the reminder that my father was Chief of Police in this small town, but that he hadn't told me we would be having company—especially company in the form of my ex-boyfriend and his father.

It wasn't that I didn't want to see them. I loved Billy and Jacob, despite our month-long foray into the world of being significant others, was still a best friend to me. Not to mention it was the two of them that convinced Charlie to buy me my old rusty red truck I had yet to name. I had just been hoping for a nice quiet night after such an eventful first day, and that time for relaxation was now out the window.

I walked up the steps to the porch, yelling as I went. "Ch—er—Dad! I'm home!"

"We're in here, Bella!"

"Where's here?!"

"Bella!" Instead of an answer, I was swept off my feet by Jacob, who met me in the hallway leading to the living room. "How was your first day of school?"

"Hi Jake," I answered, hugging him back and forgetting I was upset that he was here. Jacob was very much like my sunshine, before, during and after our relationship, though, I'll admit that it took a while for us to get back to that easy friendship. "It wasn't as bad as I expected—I made new friends and everything."

"Oooh, look at Bella, all sociable! Come on—let's go out back. Our dad's are watching the game, and I'd rather hear about your day than watch another boring inning of baseball."

"Hey! I heard that, young man!" Billy's voice echoed from the nearby living room, and we all laughed. "We're heating up Sue's fish fry! Be back in 15, alright kids?" We agreed and headed out back to the patio furniture Charlie had set up a few years back during one of my summer visits. Since my parents' divorce nearly 15 years ago, I had come to visit Charlie every summer while I lived with my mother, Renee, in Phoenix during the year. Her remarriage to a minor league baseball player had thrown our usual easy way of life off track, however, and I elected to live with Charlie rather than to travel around with the two of them.

Jacob had been a constant fixture in my life since I could remember. My earliest memories involved making mud pies in this very backyard, and sand castles on the La Push beach in the nearby Reservation where Jacob lived. It was those memories I liked to dwell on; the memories of our relationship and the year following were ones I wanted and tried hard to forget. Jacob was my sunshine, and I wanted to keep him that way.

"So, tell me everything," he demanded, settling down in the swinging hammock and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I rolled my eyes and settled in next to him before I told him all about Forks High, and the friends I made that day. I didn't realize how long I had been talking until Charlie and Billy called us in from the kitchen to tell us dinner was ready.

"Those theatre kids sound like a riot," Jake continued our conversation as we walked into the house.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool. At least, they didn't gawk at me, or make me feel like an outsider while I was there. You'd actually probably get along really well with Rosalie—she's incredibly hot, and she apparently likes working on cars. She'd be really nice if it wasn't for the ice queen act she put on while I was there."

"Maybe it was just an act—you were in a theatre class, after all." I rolled my eyes at the lame attempt to joke around and sat down across from him at the table.

"She's so hot, though, I can see why she'd think she's too good for everyone."

"Well, you'll have to give me her number—"

"Jacob! Leah!" I reminded him, acting scandalized that he'd forget his girlfriend of two years so easily.

"—So we can talk cars! Come on Bells, I'm not that much of a pig!"

"Could have fooled me," Billy whispered loud enough for us all to hear, and we laughed when Jacob tried to defend himself.

Dinner was an easy affair, filled mostly with laughter at the banter between my father and Billy, and I felt a little sad when Billy and Jacob were saying their goodbyes.

"We'll get together this weekend, and head to the beach, yeah? Everyone's excited to see you again," Jacob smiled, and I nodded my head, remembering all my friends from the Rez.

"Sure! It'll be nice to see everyone again," I agreed, and we made plans to call one another during the week to finalize our weekend. I made sure Charlie was fine for the night before I headed to bed myself, tripping on a step when I realized I was actually looking forward to school the next day. Well, maybe not my first five periods, since I knew everyone in school was just waiting to gawk at the new girl once again. However, that last period of the day—theatre—was worth waiting for, and I had a feeling tomorrow would be just as laughter-inducing as my first day had been.

* * *

…..

A/N:

Hi everyone! This is my first story ever, and I have to say, I'm really excited about it! Just to give you an idea of what to expect update/chapter-wise, I wanted to let you know that I've got about 4 chapters written so far, and I want to try to maintain that distance between writing and posting. In case I get stuck, I'll also have something to post, which should help out immensely during crunch times. The chapters, I expect to stay about this length, with some variations, of course. I'd also like to mention that I currently am editing these myself which means the only editing that really goes on happens while I'm typing. I can usually catch my mistakes, but I'm not promising perfection! Please, bear with me!

I'd also like to say right now that reviews will definitely help this little story along! I have a good idea of where this is going, so any constructive criticism, words of encouragement, and even suggestions to help me along the way are welcome! Please don't hesitate to review!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: For people following the story: sorry to fake you out! This is basically the chapter previously posted, with minor adjustments. I'll post the next chapter within the week!

I was perfectly fine with eating lunch in my truck again, but when Alice linked arms with mine seconds after I left my fourth period classroom, I knew I'd be forced into a social situation. I couldn't fight the blush that filled my cheeks at her attention to me; I knew by now that she, Emmett and Rosalie were practically royalty here at Forks High, and the knowledge made me rather nervous. I also found out that the mysterious Edward who didn't show up in theatre the previous day was Alice and Emmett's brother, but that Alice, Emmett and Edward weren't blood-related. They had all been adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his supposedly beautiful wife Esme, and they were the best looking people in the school, with the exception of Rosalie, of course, who might as well have been family since she and Emmett were in a relationship. I never knew how intense high school gossip could be until I came to Forks High; back in Arizona I wasn't social and was often left out of the loop.

"You'll eat lunch with us, won't you, Bella? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Alice, you saw me yesterday," I reminded her as I hid behind the curtain of brown hair I purposely kept long to help me avoid situations such as these; I felt the stares of the whole student body follow me and Alice as she led me by our linked arms to a table where Emmett and Rosalie were already seated.

Emmett greeted me with a big grin, his eyes sparkling and his dimples at full force. "Don't worry Bella—they're not looking at you, they're looking at me!" he winked, stretching out his tree-stump arms and letting one rest on the back of Rosalie's chair. His easy manner was enough to ease the tension I felt from all the stares, but wasn't enough to cut through the tension emanating from the beautiful blonde seated next to him. I sat down anyway; I couldn't help it—Alice's arm was still twined with mine.

"How are you, Bella? I know it must be hard for you, with everyone talking all the time," Alice turned to me and asked, and I was touched by her concern. It meant even more that Emmett put down the cafeteria burger he had been inhaling to focus on my answer.

"Yeah, but it's not so bad. I get my own personal butler when I have the same classes as Mike Newton…"

At this Rosalie snorted, and how she managed to make that attractive, I'll never know. What surprised me more was that her next comment was aimed at me.

"Newton's clingy—it'll get annoying, just wait."

"Oh, it's already annoying—don't get me wrong," I replied, realizing only while taking a breath that I was actually talking to Rosalie Hale and she wasn't glaring me into oblivion. "I mean, sure, it's cool having someone pick up my pencil every time I drop it, but if I wanted a retriever I'd have gotten a dog," I finished honestly, startled a little when everyone—including Rosalie—laughed. She didn't say a word to me the rest of our lunch period, but she stopped giving me "the eye" too, so I figured that was making progress.

When the bell signaling the end of fifth period rang through the school's old sound system, I couldn't help the smile that lit my face. My trek to the theatre room was made even better when Angela spotted me and walked with me. I hadn't had much interaction with her the day before, but I knew from the improvisational activity they had done that she was one of the funniest people in that room. I decided I really liked Angela; she had a quiet strength to her and I could tell she was just as shy as me when she wasn't around our theatre class. I could only hope to find that kind of strength in any situation at all; public speaking was never a strong suit of mine.

She was telling me all about her little brothers as we sat in the randomly scattered seats when he walked in, and I was immediately drawn to the bronze-haired newcomer. His green eyes settled on mine and he gave a slight smile before walking over to the teacher's desk to talk to a miraculously early Mrs. Wigg.

"Edward! Nice of you to join us!" Mrs. Wigg's naturally loud voice broke the conversation I was having with Angela, and I was thankful and slightly vindicated. I had to deal with curious stares and whispers of the "new kid" for the past two days; it was nice to see someone else as the "new kid" regardless of the fact that he had been here longer than me. To me, at least, he was new, and I found myself fascinated both by his easy smile and the easing of my anger at the classmates who so openly stared at me.

He didn't respond to her, just shrugged and took a seat by Eric and Ben who were going through a script, it seemed. Emmett and Alice walked in at the same time, making a fuss over the fact that their brother was in class. I must have had a confused look on my face, because Angela decided to shed light on Edward's mysterious absence the day before.

"He had an audition in Seattle," she explained as Alice jumped up to hug her brother. "We all like to act here or be involved in theatre somehow, but Edward's the real deal—he has more talent than all of us put together." I found that hard to believe, seeing as how everyone was brilliant during yesterday's improv game, but all contemplation was gone when I saw him approaching us, being dragged by an excited Alice.

"Bella! I want you to meet my other brother! This is Edward! Edward, this is Isabella Swan, from Phoenix!" He seemed amused at his sister's excitability, and his adoring smile at her spoke volumes. When he turned that smile my way, I couldn't help the blush that filled my cheeks; all hope of no one noticing went out the window when Emmett's chuckle rumbled through the air.

"Hello, Bella—I'm Edward, it's nice to meet you," he stuck out his hand and I must have looked like an idiot stumbling while sitting in my seat as I reached over to accept his handshake. My blush intensified and I stammered a hello while Emmett let out a full guffaw beside me.

I tried my hardest not to let out a sigh of relief when Mrs. Wigg called the class to order, giving us all a packet of paper and telling us to pair up. I froze when I realized that meant I was to participate today; with Edward here we made an even ten, and I wasn't ready to dive head-first into this acting business.

"Rose, you be Emmet's partner today—I want to do this with Bella!" Alice's bell-like voice rang out, and I felt both intimidated and relieved that I wouldn't be the last one chosen to partner up with. "Bella, be my partner?"

I agreed, looking over the packets Mrs. Wigg gave us, not understanding what we were going to do with them. Mrs. Wigg instructed us to turn work on scene three and I was even more confused when it didn't seem like "scene three" was a scene at all.

"It's contentless," Alice explained, sensing my confusion. "Wigg's got a lot to do, getting the Fall Play ready, so she'll give this to us to work on for a while before we get together and show each other the scenes we've created. There's nothing here," she continued, wiggling the packet for emphasis. "It's up to us to take the words on the paper and make them a scene. We get to decide the relationship of our characters, where this is taking place, when this is taking place—whatever we want, so long as we stick to the script."

"Alice, I've never done this before…" I bit my lip, reading through the script. It seemed simple enough. Two people meet, and have a conversation. I was still nervous though; this was completely new to me.

"That's ok—let's just pick a part each and then we'll figure everything else out bit by bit, ok?"

I felt like I could handle that, so she decided to take the first role and I the second, to follow her lead. Around us, I could hear murmuring as partners decided their specifics and began to read the script in character.

I started to get overwhelmed again, but Alice was very patient with me, which I couldn't understand, given her immense outpouring of energy. Slowly, but surely, we came up with a little scene all our own, and by the end of our preparation I found myself excited to share it with the people who were quickly becoming my friends. I tried to remember every detail so that I could tell Jasper, my best friend from Phoenix, who insisted I call every night and let him know how I was. Between him, Jake, and my old friends from the Rez, I didn't think I needed anyone else, but these people were proving me wrong. It was nice to enjoy spending time with other people; at least, it made my day go by a little faster.

We had time to spare after polishing our 2-minute scene, and Alice proved true to her initial promise of us being "such good friends." Her energy was infectious and her patience helped me open up a little more. When she asked about boyfriends in Phoenix, I laughed, mentioning Jasper.

"He's really the only friend I had from Phoenix, but we were never romantically involved. I learned my lesson about dating friends after the Jacob-fiasco, that's for sure," I answered with a shake of my head, glad that I had new friends with whom I could laugh about it. Those were the darkest days of my life thus far, and laughing about it now was another sign that I was over it, in my eyes.

"Jacob-fiasco?" she echoed, and I realized that I really did want to tell her about it—I wanted to tell someone other than Jasper, who had made hasty conclusions and still hated Jacob despite the fact that Jake and I managed to reconcile. I wanted to tell her, but I didn't know how to do that without putting her in the same position in which I had placed Jasper—against Jacob.

Lucky for me, I didn't have to figure it out right away, because Mrs. Wigg called us all together.

"I want to talk to you about the Spring Play, since that's high on my priority list today. We'll use your scenes as audition pieces, if that's all right with you guys. The rest of the school can do monologues since I don't really know who's going to audition, or what they can do, but I believe in your talent, so we'll go with the scenes."

Tentatively I raised my hand, biting my lip. Mrs. Wigg's attention rested on me, and I voiced my concern.

"Mrs. Wigg, I don't think it's fair that I audition for the play with a scene if the rest of the school has to audition with a monologue. I mean—I've never really done this before, and—" but I was cut off.

"Nonsense, Bella! It'll all work out—if you want to prepare a monologue then by all means, go ahead, but it'll be a waste of your time since you have to do the scene for a grade in this class anyway. Not that you should worry about that, honey—as long as you perform the scene to instruction, you'll pass."

I nodded, still a bit disappointed. I hadn't wanted to audition at all, hoping for a backstage job if they were available, but Mrs. Wigg apparently had a tech class as well and they were in charge of all the backstage work. She began to talk about the play, zeroing in on specific people, and I realized that not everyone in the room simply acted. Alice was to be put in charge of costuming and makeup; Emmett would be in charge of lights; Eric was the prop master and he and Ben would be working on setting; Mrs. Wigg would settle the rest of the necessities once the play was cast.

"Wigg, what play are we going to do, anyway?" Emmett called out, and the class laughed when our theatre instructor made a fuss about forgetting to tell us the most important piece of information.

"Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Emmett—and I'm sure you're all excited about working with Billy this year!"

I found that I was. Wonders would never cease.

A/N

If this is short, it's only because the next chapter's going to be pretty long; Bella finally tells someone her angsty romantic history…I'll let you work out who it'll be :)

To everyone who either reviewed, or put the story on alert, THANK YOU!!! It made me so happy to see people were interested in the story so far; I know it's not exciting, but I promise, it gets better!

Thanks again, and please review!


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